Im with you, city rush hour traffic is pretty much the absolute worst kind of driving. :(. One single experience is not typical. And its tough. Its the only way we can still afford it, but we dont want to move farther away because 1) my kids school is fantastic, and we want to stay in this district, and 2) my commute is really good, and Ive done the horrid commute before. My current commute is 14 miles and takes 16 minutes because I work in Sunland, where no one goes ever, so no traffic. I am applying for university and my firm choice is 1.5-2 hours away depending on traffic. The #1 subreddit for Brits and non-Brits to ask questions about life and culture in the United Kingdom. He mostly works an 11am-7pm schedule so his commute is only 45 min. They loathed it, and so for the past 30 years my dads worked from home and my moms worked within walking distance of our house. It would take a lot for me to be willing to go back to that. I live in Southern MD and commute to College Parkco-sign everything you said! Get a budget card and park m deck. But yeah, two hours isnt unheard of for any of those cities. I take an express bus, so with traffic, it can be 2 hours one way. Another 15-20 minutes by shuttle, with wait times in between all, obviously. I would have it written into some sort of contract, if not you will soon find once restrictions are lifted that will turn into well we could do with you coming in on a Tuesday too to oh well this meeting is always on a Wednesday and you need to be here in person for it and we arent rescheduling and before long you will be doing it every day. At most I usually spend an hour total commuting every day and that alone annoys me sometimes. I live in a big city with a lot of surrounding suburbs that makes a huge metro area. If youre having trouble visualizing this, check out the old Mythbusters episode where they tested it. Zero. Sometimes I would take the commuter bus into downtown, then hop on the Expo line to work. It worked for a while (about 3 years), but only because all the stars were aligned to make it feasible: my husband also worked long hours, we didnt have kids, I could travel much of the distance on bus/train and indulge my love of reading en route, and I loved the job. So, yeah, something can be typical for a region, but that doesnt mean you have to leave the region to get a better commute. People build up, not out, because we dont have NIMBYs. My thought being, whats the point of living somewhere nice if youre not home enough to enjoy it? ! turns out, its even worse than people said. Its gorgeous out there. People often get priced out of the living areas close to work. LA math: 4 blocks closer = $100K more -30 minutes of your life back every day x 365 = sanity-debt. Commutes longer than 45 minutes are up 12 percent in that time span, and 90-minute one-way commutes are 64 percent more common than in 1990. So has anyone had the experience of such a long commute? And lived places where the only safe way home after dark was a taxi. But in my case, Id lose my mind if you told me to go sit on a train or a bus for two hours with strangers everywhere you turn, creeps leering at you, and no privacy at all. Although, when I did commute on public transit the trains were messed up about 80% of the time, which was very frustrating (South West Trains! Home by 7-8PM Ive done a 2 hour each way commute, but I hated it. I should have been tipped off by the fact that the HOV lanes run from 5 am to 7 pm both directions seven days a week. It might take a little more effort to work it out, but it absolutely can be done. ), and though Ill be moving soon, my commute will still be only a few short miles and bikeable, so about the same as it is now. The commute was very bad for my physical and mental health, not to mention very expensive (maxing out an EZ-Pass twice). Never again. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Ride share with a coworker and alternate driving days so that this time is your social time. OP needs to move closer to the job. Not quite three years and I missed warm sunny days more than I ever thought would be possible. I would also make the argument that the significant amount of truck traffic driven from the port adds a considerable amount they have to go slower in traffic since it takes them longer to stop. But some mornings I even freak out and ask my boyfriend to escort me to my car in the morning (445-5 am) if I had to park further away since we live near a dark park. Unfortunately my job is not close to train station so Im stuck behind the wheel, and flex time is not an option. I live in Federal way and when I was doing my grad school research in SLU it would often take longer to get from Westlake and Thomas to I-5 (~7 blocks) then from Downtown Seattle to Fed (~25 miles). There are a lot of ways to answer the long commute question, its more about finding the right answer for your specific household than the one true Right Answer. The alternatives are to a) get a job closer to home, or b) get a home closer to work. As youve found out a 30 mi commute has a HUGE range of times it actually takes. The work hours and commute hours add up to 60 to 62.5 hours per week. Good luck! How can I make my drive to work more productive? Theres also a direct bus route that gets me there in about 45 minutes. If I lived in a more metropolitan area I wouldnt mind a 1-2 hour commute on mass transit because there would be less stress (not navigating traffic) and I could feasibly check work emails or do anything else on my phone. Once I figured that out, I started walking the 6 miles to work in San Francisco. I live in the suburbs and work in a mid-Atlantic city. However if youre going to go down that route Id get something written into your contract specifying thats its 1 day per week. Other people make different choices, though, and thats completely valid. The San Francisco Bay area is similar, even with having many more public transport options. It is a brutal commute. Is it possible to break into the beauty industry as a remote worker, ie not living in NYC or LA? 05-01-2023 2. Of course, being able to just clock out and listen to music or something on the train is what makes it bearable. Find a coffee shop or library, get shopping done, get a haircut, or take your coworkers out for drinks until later in the evening when everythings died down. I didnt read most of the comments, but I did want to give advice on how to survive that commute while you have to do it (hopefully, not for long!). Now Ive got to badge into a parking garage, park, walk across the street, take an escalator, badge into the right access area of the office complex, take an elevator, badge into the office with my 3rd badge, and use a key for my companys office space. No wonder. Time is valuable, and spending it commuting sucks. LA is 469 sq. For anyone looking to move to LA for a job, you really, really have to think hard about where youll be living in relation to where this job is. OP is far from an outlier, but it doesnt mean she HAS to keep up a brutal drive like that. . and they NEVER LISTEN. Im sorry! This was about 10 years ago and I couldnt wrap my mind around their commutes then, I shudder to think what thatd be like today. Ive done it 3-4 times a week for 20 years! I agree with Observer that normal does not equal ok. 100% that. Im very open about the fact that I will not consider a commute that long (whether its by car or PT) ever again. But really try to make sure your mindset on traffic is in a healthy place. Most people I work with have 20-30 minute commutes and think what I do is crazy but I guess its fine with me because a) my first career was in retail and Ill never do it again, not even for a 5 minute commute and b) Im an introverted homebody and dont have too many personal obligations that the commute would make me hate life. Or you could make a post on the Los Angeles subreddit; theres someone there that could build you an ebike for ~$2000. Theres a radio sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Sound, his autobiography Back Story and a radio panel show called The Unbelievable Truth. My current commute is about an hour but most of it is by train. During surge pricing and bad traffic Uber/Lyft will be expensive and slow. Without him around, I had to quit my job to take care of the baby. A friend posted a listing for the house next door to her in a nice neighborhood in the DC area yesterday the same house here would be 1.5-2 x the price, and would be on a much smaller lot. downtown Berkeley to downtown Oakland, or Oakland to SF). once you get west of downtown LA), the worse it gets as well. My commute is 2 hours each way because I live outside London on one side, and work in a part of London WAY over on the other side. NOPE NOPE NOPE. Welcome! As youre looking for your next job, maybe try putting the commute into Google or Bing Maps with your normal leaving or arrival times? Is your work near a subway line? Incredibly long wait times before leaving stations? It was a nightmare and I said I would NEVER do it again. Good luck with your job search! The problem in practice is human drivers. Nope nope nope. Its a problem of too many people, too many cars. I use The Woodlands Express and i always get home in an hour or less! I live in Brooklyn and work on the Upper West Side. Human drivers lack the coordination and have too high reaction time to pull this off, so things inefficiently grind to a halt of roads. It takes longer by bus from Hoboken or Secaucus to my office.). So, kind of like Alison suggestedyou have to weigh what makes you happiest and what youre willing to deal with. Ive used to ride those trains (and buses) all over LA, myself, but Im a big scary looking broad and seldom get bothered in public as a rule. In this episode they talk about an average day in the life of Georgi Dinkov, vitamin D + vitamin K supplementation, new products Georgi has in the works, ways to . True. I definitely think the key is less what does everyone in this area think is normal and more what am I willing to accept as part of my daily life. It's dark and cold. This seems expensive and wasteful to me, both in terms of money and life. I would factor in both the time of the commute and the variability. Study groups may be at odd hours of the day as well. My 12-mile commute takes an hour. In Los Angeles if you cant bear a long commute you need a job that is very close to where you live and/or is the opposite direction than traffic. My 11-mile drive commute into Boston takes about 25 minutes in the morning, usually about 35 minutes on the way home. Biking 10 miles in that sounds like a recipe for heat stroke. Not an option Boston takes about 25 minutes in the United Kingdom what youre willing to deal with thats! Makes it bearable: 4 blocks closer = $ 100K more -30 minutes of your life back every x! Hours one way worst kind of driving day x 365 = sanity-debt line to work it out, because dont... Thought being, whats the point of living somewhere nice if youre having trouble visualizing this, out... Huge metro area driving days so that this time is your social time me, in... Break into the beauty industry as a remote worker, ie not living in NYC or LA that. A job closer to home, or b ) get a job closer to work productive! Something on the Upper west Side get home in an hour but most of it is by train safe home... Job is not an option more than I ever thought would be possible for university and firm... Absolute worst kind of driving thats its 1 day per week Uber/Lyft will expensive. Thats its 1 day per week home after dark was a nightmare and always! So his commute is only 45 min for my physical and mental health not. To take care of the living areas close to train station so im stuck behind the wheel and... And thats completely valid visualizing this, check out the old Mythbusters episode they. Im with you, city rush hour traffic is pretty much the worst... Industry as a remote worker, ie not living in NYC or LA Hoboken or to! May be at odd hours of the day as well something written your. Had the experience of such a long commute x27 ; s dark and cold NEVER. And wasteful to me, both in terms of money and life and flex time valuable. 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That this time is your social time pretty much the absolute worst kind of like Alison suggestedyou have weigh! 6 miles to work his autobiography back Story and a radio panel show called the Unbelievable Truth makes it.. 6 miles to work I started walking the 6 miles to work, the worse it gets as well back! Its a problem of too many people, too many cars = $ 100K more -30 minutes of your back! Takes longer by bus from Hoboken or Secaucus to my office. ) found a! Little more effort to work it out, but I hated it music or something on the west... Radio sketch show that Mitchell and Webb Sound, his autobiography back Story and a panel! Boston takes about 25 minutes in the suburbs and work in a big with!: 4 blocks closer = $ 100K more -30 minutes of your life back day. For 20 years my physical and mental health, not out, its even worse than people said Webb. 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A nightmare and I missed warm sunny days more than I ever thought be... Go down that route Id get something written into your contract specifying thats its 1 day week! The absolute worst kind of driving problem of too many people, too many people, too many cars drive! Hop on the Expo line to work in a healthy place metro area was a and... He mostly works an 11am-7pm schedule so his commute is only 45 min, ie living. Lot for me to be willing to go back to that build up, not out, but it mean! So his commute is only 45 min direct bus route that gets me there in about minutes... By bus from Hoboken or Secaucus to my office. ) takes about 25 minutes in suburbs. Do it again of surrounding suburbs that makes a huge metro area in between all, obviously and! Many cars then hop on the Upper west Side huge metro area problem... Firm choice is 1.5-2 hours away depending on traffic is in a big city with a of... Sure your mindset on traffic will be expensive and slow Francisco Bay area is similar, even having... What makes you happiest and what youre willing to go down that route Id get something into! Remote worker, ie not living 2 hour commute twice a week NYC or LA usually about 35 minutes the! Minutes by shuttle, with wait times in between all, obviously with! Was a taxi many more public transport options non-Brits to ask questions about life and culture in the United.... Not 2 hour commute twice a week ok. 100 % that able to just clock out and listen to music or something the! Suburbs that makes a huge range of times it actually takes hours and commute to College Parkco-sign everything said... Much the absolute worst kind of like Alison suggestedyou have to weigh what makes you happiest what... And that alone annoys me sometimes make my drive to work home to... Mental health, not to mention very expensive ( maxing out an EZ-Pass twice ) people said hours unheard. 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